Stina Nordenstam - And She Closed Her Eyes

International edition of the ethereal Swedish singer/songwriter's 1994 album for East West. 12 tracks including 'Crime', featuring avant-garde trumpeter Jon Hassell & the acoustic 'Little Star' (also included on the Romeo & Julliet soundtrack). For fans of David Sylvian's Brilliant Trees. Warner. Album Description

 I am hopefully yours
Until Emiliana Torrini finally comes out with another album, one of the artists I will have to listen to is Stina Nordenstam.

And the Swedish singer's second album is a beautiful, delicate wisp that has aged incredibly well. "And She Closed Her Eyes" is filled with her fragile voice and hesitant trip-hop, as well as the wistful sounds of bittersweet breakups and endangered love.

"It takes you no time/You just follow the bridge/Indian summer evening/Let the shadows backslide" Nordenstam sings wistfully over cycling guitars, describing the feelings of one-third of a love triangle. "I'm a true believer/And no lover of starshine/I know where this is leading/This is my last chance..."

It continues with the ethereal, saxophone-edged "Viewed From the Spire," all about love that ends with death. And the album trickles into a series of similar songs -- catchy folkpop, ethereal little trippy ballads, the shimmering jazz-edged "Little Star," haunting ambient folk laced with sea-sounds, uneasy trip-hop. It ends with the heartbreaking title track -- and when the guitars end, there's only the sound of rain.

Most albums about broken hearts and broken love affairs are pretty angry -- the artists use them for catharsis when someone done them wrong. But "And She Closed Her Eyes" is a different kind of breakup album -- this is about the bittersweet pessimism of breaking up, the love that died, or the painful little heartache when you see your love with someone else. Trust me, I know.

That bittersweetness is printed all over these songs. Sure, a couple are about love-related deaths, but most are about goodbyes. And her delicate, simple lyrics sum up the feelings of goodbyes ("whatever made me glow, it's gone now/But I pretend I'm having it still") or the sorrow of what hasn't been said at all ("Little star/So you had to go/You must have wanted him to know... Poor little thing...").

And their beautiful fragility is only enhanced by Nordenstam's voice -- she has a sort of childlike, slightly creaky voice, though she does a gorgeous Latin chorus in "Little Star". And her music is a mix of gentle folk and dream-pop, with some soft synth woven in there -- the only jarring note is the saxophone, which sounds like something from a soap-opera commercial.

Regrets, lost love and love that has run its course -- that is "And She Closed Her Eyes," an exquisite little collection of trip-folk gems. But if you've lost at love recently, keep tissues near. January 16, 2008

 Great Album!
"Little Star" was the first song I heard from Stina Nordenstam, it got some good airplay as part of the Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack. On a whim I bought this album. That was 10 years and I still listen to this album regularly. Stina's voice is amazingly beautiful. November 19, 2006

 Beautiful moving CD...well worth the price
I rarely give out five-star reviews - - but Stina Nordenstam's "And She Closed Her Eyes" is one of the few exceptions I'm making. "And She Closed Her Eyes" is one of the loveliest albums I've heard in a long time.

The first I learned of Stina was through someone's Amazon.com wishlist. For some reason, the cover of her album drew me. Her pose and demeanor looked a great deal like mine. I wasn't sure I'd like the album, but I decided to give it a chance.
Later, I learned that Stina had contributed to the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. If I had known she was one of the artists who sang for the movie, I probably wouldn't have given the album a chance. I wasn't sure I'd like this album, but on first listen, I fell in love with it. It hasn't left my turnstill since I started playing it.

Stina's voice is unique. It is light and almost bell-like; however, I don't believe it's quite child-like as some have described it. Child-like implies naivete and innocence - Stina is neither. When I listen to Stina's voice, I think of spider silk which seems fragile at first, but is tensile and durable. I believe Stina is quite adept at confronting her own pain. Her voice, her songs perfectly capture the starkness, silence, sadness, and numbness that pain leaves once all pretense and defensiveness is stripped away. Stina's honesty and her vulnerability are her strengths.

I have a lot of favorite moments on this cd. Stina ability to use her voice to convey emotion/tell a story is unparraleled in my opinion. "When Debbie Comes Back Home From Texas" is haunting. When Stina sings the line "You just follow the bridge.." she follows with the most amazing cooing that recalls a long wistful journey. Fireworks is another moving example where she expresses fragility and pain with such honesty. Some of the album's most beautiful songs are when she combines choral elements with the songs like Crime, Little Star, Murder in Maryland Park, and I See You Again. The lyrics are like little movie stills.

I'm gushing about this album, I know - but it hasn't left my turnstill since I started listening to it. It's a beautiful, honest album. You'll probably hear others compare Stina to Bjork, The Cardigan's Nina Persson, or Ricki Lee Jones(this last comparison I don't understand at all - but I have not heard Stina's first album, so I can't give my opinion about this comparison.)

I enjoy Bjork, Stina, and Nina's work - but all three have their separate merits. Stina's arrangments are less-complicated than Bjork's. Although both artists infuse their work with honest,raw emotion, Stina's is much more vulnerable and kittinish than Bjork's. Stina takes a less theatrical approach than Bjork. As far as the comparisons to Nina Persson, Stina is more emotional than Perssons's. Persson's sweet voice is often used to underscore the irony of certain situations - and sometimes even borders on sounding jaded.

That being said, Stina's album is sad but a comforting one. I'm not naive enough to say that everyone will enjoy this cd. Stina's voice will not be enjoyed by all, but I liked it. If you're feeling sad, depressed, or in need to commisserate, then Stina's album is a perfect. It's also nice to chill out to if you're feeling wistful. July 18, 2004

 Simply Brilliant
I bought this album when it first came out, almost ten years ago, and have loved it ever since. Stina is a complete original, her songs - intense, personal, and deeply moving, are like no other, her voice, unique, sensitive, vulnerable and beautiful.

I have cried so many times listening to her music and her beautiful voice more than any other artist I care to think about, due to her intrinsic beauty and ability to touch the heart. This album is a classic, there is no doubt about it. I am sure many female singer-song writers of today would have a copy of this CD tucked away somewhere. Stina wears her heart on her sleeve musically and writes songs like a director shoots a film.

The most captivating aspect of this CD is Stina's voice... way way up in the mix, it makes you feel like she is a ghost entering the room to sing directly to you, like some private guest, some broken hearted child invading your most lonely moment. The music is sublime, well produced and arranged. I personally adore the choral voices at the end of songs like Murder in Mairyland Park", the bittersweet "Hopelessly yours", the absolutely gorgeously heartbreaking "So this is goodbye", probably the finest song about breaking up with a lover ever committed to tape. Ahh... words fail me... just get this CD, drink a wine, turn the lights down and swoon.

Favorite Lyric -

"My fingerprints are all over the world
You see my jacket in the street what if they hear your heart beat

Cause you've been seen with another girl
She's in everyone you meet and I can hear your heart beat"

Crime.

(By the way, all her other albums are equally brilliant! Go and explore!!) May 8, 2004

 Far up there
I got the word on Stina by friends who were always telling me to check her out since I'm a diehard Anja Garbarek fan. Just about all the reviews here are dead on. This is one of the very few albums you'll get through your life that will completely move you, that will make you want to get under a bunch of covers in your bed with the lights off and bliss out forever. It's so rich and deep, it will affect you in a very personal way. I know that sounds cheesy but you just have to check this album out.

Stinas voice barely breaks a whisper as she mainlines her whispering vocals right into your ear drums while the ethereal-ish folky music envelopes and hypnotizes you to the threshold, as if you are suspended in a warm milky womb where no matter what is going on, you'd rather be nowhere else but in front of your speakers. The music is light, something to listen to alone... definitely nothing you could dance to.

This is a difficult album to review because nothing really sounds like it, aside from Anja Garbarek who has a much more surreal atmosphere. The album is sad, but it is probably best recieved by those who can ultimately see the beauty in sadness... and in that aspect, this is an incredibly beautiful record. December 27, 2003

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